Background: The primary objective of the present study was to determine the degree to which factors other than race or ethnicity contribute to large disparities in clinical outcome for patients treated with targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

Methods: A single institution retrospective study was conducted at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) diagnosis of mRCC, (2) treatment with at least 1 targeted agent for mRCC and (3) concurrent serum C-reactive protein and albumin levels on at least 3 occasions that were at least 2 weeks apart. Statistical analysis was conducted using SAS V9.3 and R2.15.2. Kinetic risk assessment was performed with the newly devised inflammation intensity index (I3). Univariate and multivariate analyses were also completed.

Results: The median overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort (n=55) was 30.6 months (95% CI 19.8, 49.4) with a median follow up of 27.1 months (95% CI 22.0, 31.3). The median OS for non-Hispanic whites (n=39) was 38.4 months (95% CI 23.7, 49.4) vs. 8.6 months (95% CI 5.0, 25.6) for African Americans (n=14) and Hispanics (n=2) with a log-rank p value of <0.0001. Multivariate analysis demonstrated OS was most closely associated with kinetic risk as defined by the I3 risk assessment tool (type 3 p value <0.001) and nephrectomy status (type 3 p value 0.010), but not race/ethnicity.

Conclusions: Prolonged OS was most closely associated with persistent inflammation free survival and shorter OS with increases in the intensity and duration of systemic inflammation.

Citation Format: Wayne B. Harris, Dana C. Nickleach, Yuan Liu, Omer Kucuk, Viraj A. Master. Inflammation-free survival as a surrogate endpoint for overall survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C15. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-C15